In recent years, a rolling member such as a bearing component constituting a rolling bearing has increasingly been used in a severe environment. For example, a calendar roll support bearing of a papermaking machine or a roll support bearing of iron and steel rolling equipment is used in a high-temperature environment which is a temperature environment higher than ordinary temperature (room temperature), and hence lubricating oil for the bearing may be deteriorated or the viscosity of the lubricating oil may be reduced, to result in insufficient lubrication. Further, abrasion or a rust pit may be caused on a rolling surface which is a surface coming into contact with another rolling member on the surface of the rolling member due to water vapor in the atmosphere or cooling water, and the rolling member may be flaked in an early stage with the abrasion or the rust pit serving as a starting point. In other words, an oil film is broken due to insufficient lubrication and the rolling members come into metallic contact with each other on the rolling surfaces to cause surface damage (peeling or abrasion, for example), or the rolling surface is rusted due to water derived from the water vapor or the cooling water to cause surface damage from the rust serving as a starting point, to cause flaking in the rolling member in an early stage. Further, such a phenomenon (flaking resulting from hydrogen embrittlement) that hydrogen generated by decomposition of water infiltrating the bearing or hydrogen generated by decomposition of the lubricating oil with catalysts of nascent surfaces of metal appearing due to metallic contact between the rolling elements infiltrates the rolling members to cause flaking on the rolling surfaces in a short period is also problematic. When the rolling bearing is used in a high-temperature environment, there is also a problem of cracking resulting from use of the rolling bearing with remarkable fitting for avoiding dimensional change (secular dimensional change) in use and creep resulting from the dimensional change.
In relation to bearings used in a high-temperature environment, a large number of examinations for attaining long lives etc. have been made, and various countermeasures have been proposed (refer to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-19252 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-144331 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-183771 (Patent Document 3), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-291342 (Patent Document 4), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-344783 (Patent Document 5), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 5-179404 (Patent Document 6), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-212721 (Patent Document 7), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-323939 (Patent Document 8) and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-60847 (Patent Document 9)).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-19252    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-144331    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-183771    Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-291342    Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-344783    Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 5-179404    Patent Document 7: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-212721    Patent Document 8: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-323939    Patent Document 9: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-60847